Restoration efforts continue for Buffalo’s historic Central Terminal. The plans focus on bringing life back to the large train station while boosting cultural tourism in the area.

Buffalo’s Central Terminal opened its doors in 1929. During its heyday the train station was filled with a variety of businesses where people could drop off their dry cleaning, get their shoes shined, or grab a meal in the restaurant.

Listen

Listening...

/

4:20

Central Terminal Restoration Corporation’s Executive Director, Marilyn Rodgers, says on June 22nd 1929 there were 2,200 people in the concourse at a sit-down luncheon. That number gives people an idea of how big the historic building is inside.

The terminal has been vacant for years. During that time all of its stained glass windows were broken, it was vandalized, stripped of copper, and its terrazzo floors damaged. Rodgers says in 1997 the restoration corporation stepped in and has been trying to restore the station to its original splendor.

“For the first 15 years all of the work in the terminal, the stabilization, the boarding up, retrieving the clock that you see in the concourse, redoing the clocks on the tower face, these are all very significant items for a group of all volunteers to do, including removing over 400 tons of debris,” says Rodgers.

More recently the concourse has been used for events and tours. In order to get the building tenant-ready though, Rodgers estimates that it’s going to cost roughly $55 million to repurpose the building inside and out. So far, funding has come through grants and individual donations.

“We’re meeting with financial institutions and we’re trying to garner enough interest, we have great community interest. We’ve received about $600,000 of in-kind goods and services, including our 50,000 watt solar PV system that’s going to be installed through Solar Liberty,” says Rodgers.

“[For] Our ticket window section we’re talking about utilizing that as a museum for the terminal and for transportation as-well. The main concourse will always be a public space and it would be able to be rented for events and smaller gallery openings and have gallery openings and have gallery openings and live performances in the concourse,” says Rodgers.

There is room for a number of shops and cafés in the building as-well. Rodgers says one of the big ideas is to try and attract a college or university to occupy the space.

“The restaurant area could very easily be turned into another educational opportunity that serves the public, possibly bringing in a culinary school where they can sell their goods. The offices that we have in our mezzanine area have movable walls, so you can actually create lecture halls. You can create classrooms to any size that you want,” said Rodgers.

Rodgers says mixed use is the best option for the large space and they plan to market the facility as a center for arts and sciences.

“We have a tourism and marketing plan that is just going through the final tweaks. As far as education is concerned we have already reached out to universities and colleges locally, regionally, throughout the state. We have even reached out to a facility in Canada,” says Rodgers.

“If the plans for the Central Terminal unfold as the team there hopes in the coming years, I think it will be a really neat combination of arts and architecture on that site, and that will be a compelling story for our region,” says Burakowski.

The first phase of the restoration project is expected to be completed by 2016, when tenants will be able to move in. Rogers says another goal through the rebuilding process is to revitalize the area which has also fallen on hard times.

“The Central Terminal Restoration Corporation wishes to take a leadership role with a strong reuse plan that will lift the neighborhood, not just put people in the building,” says Rodgers.

The train tunnels that can be seen at the terminal they are not part of the restoration project; they are owned by the City of Buffalo. The railroad tracks surrounding it will not be included either. They are owned by CSX Corporation.

Editors Note: This story has been modified from its original format to reflect input from visitors who offered clarification on the architectural styles of both Buffalo Central Terminal, and Grand Central Terminal in New York City.